December 3rd, 2020
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China’s Chang’e-5’s ascender is ready for departure from the Moon later today, hauling into lunar orbit a cache of specimens picked up and packaged from the Ocean of Storms. The processes of drilling and packing rocks and soil from beneath the lunar surface finished at 4:53 am on December 2, the China National Space Administration […]
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NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now carrying out Sol 2959 tasks. A recent drive by the wheeled robot of roughly 167 feet (51 meters) placed it in front of good outcrop to study, reports Lauren Edgar, a planetary geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center in Flagstaff, Arizona. Curiosity’s plan involved a “touch-and-go” – an opportunity […]
Following its December 1st lunar landing, China’s Chang’e-5 robotic probe has collected a cargo of Moon samples, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Wednesday. The lander-ascender combination of Chang’e-5 finished the tasks of Moon sample drilling and packaging at 4:53 am Wednesday utilizing two methods of sampling, including using drills and a mechanical arm […]
China’s Chang’e-5 spacecraft successfully landed on the near side of the Moon late Tuesday and sent back images, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced. According to China news groups, the spacecraft landed at the preselected landing area near 51.8 degrees west longitude and 43.1 degrees north latitude, citing a CNSA statement. Chang’e-5 reportedly touched […]
China’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission — the country’s first attempt to retrieve samples automatically from an extraterrestrial body – is ready for a landing. The Chang’e-5 probe’s lander and ascender separated from its orbiter and returner at 4:40 a.m. Beijing time on Monday, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) on the same day. Sealed […]
Dotting the moon’s harsh landscape are steep-walled holes known as pits. Also tagged as “skylights,” these features may lead to far-reaching, sub-surface lava tubes that were shaped billions of years ago by a then geologically lively moon. New technologies are being harnessed that can allow exploration of skylights, lava tubes and caverns […]
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover is now performing Sol 2956 tasks. New imagery from the robot shows its surroundings and ongoing duties.
China’s Chang’e-5 lunar sample return mission has braked itself into Moon orbit on Saturday, one small robotic step to land, collect, and then deliver back to Earth lunar samples. According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA) after the Moon probe had flown about 112 hours from Earth, an engine on the probe ignited when […]
The growing interest in extractable resources on the Moon may have a problem: there ain’t enough to go around. Toss in for good measure the lack of international policies or agreements to decide “who gets what from where.” A team of researchers believe tensions, overcrowding, and quick exhaustion of resources to be one possible […]
China’s Chang’e-5 mission remains on track for dispatching its lunar lander/ascender to descend within the northwest region of Oceanus Procellarum, also known as the Ocean of Storms. The craft is to land near Mons Rümker, a volcanic complex in the northern region of Oceanus Procellarum. Within 48 hours, a robotic arm of the lander-ascender […]
